Pedrosa breaks Rossi's record to claim Valencia pole

Repsol Honda rider Dani Pedrosa will start the final race of the 2012 season in pole position after topping qualifying.

Story highlights

Spanish motorcyclist Dani Pedrosa wins pole at final race of MotoGP season

Honda rider breaks Valentino Rossi's lap record at Valencia circuit

He heads the front row from world champion Jorge Lorenzo and Casey Stoner

Stoner, the 2011 world champion, will retire from the sport after Sunday's race

Dani Pedrosa may have missed out on the MotoGP world title yet again, but the Spanish motorcycle star is determined to finish the 2012 season on a high note at one of his favorite tracks on Sunday.

The Honda rider smashed Valentino Rossi's lap record at the Ricardo Tormo circuit in Valencia on Saturday to claim pole position for the final race.

He clocked one minute 30.844 seconds near the end of the session to head off compatriot Jorge Lorenzo, who clinched his second world title for Yamaha at the penultimate race in Australia last month.

Last year's world champion Casey Stoner, who won at Phillip Island, will complete the front row in his final race for Honda before retiring.

"It was almost a perfect lap and I gave 100% because I knew I wouldn't be able to improve any more as the tires were very good for the first lap and then the drop in grip was quite severe," said Pedrosa, who will finish second in the championship for the third time since stepping up to the elite class in 2006.

The 27-year-old has won five times at the circuit in MotoGP's three divisions.

Rossi to reunite with Lorenzo at Yamaha 5 photos

Rossi to reunite with Lorenzo at Yamaha5 photos

Best of rivals – Valentino Rossi, left, will rejoin Jorge Lorenzo at Yamaha next season, renewing one of MotoGP's biggest rivalries in recent years.

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Rossi to reunite with Lorenzo at Yamaha5 photos

Ducati doledrums – Seven-time world champion Rossi has struggled since joining Ducati in 2011, having taken with him his No. 46 -- the number with which his bike has always been adorned to commemorate the first win by his father, who was also a motorbike racer.

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Rossi to reunite with Lorenzo at Yamaha5 photos

'The Doctor' departs – Rossi left Yamaha in 2010, having won 46 races for the Japanese team. However, that year the man known as "The Doctor" lost his world title to younger teammate Lorenzo.

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Rossi to reunite with Lorenzo at Yamaha5 photos

Rise of 'the outsider' – Rossi won the world championship in Lorenzo's first two years with the team, but the Spaniard usurped him after finishing fourth in 2008 and second in 2009.

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Rossi to reunite with Lorenzo at Yamaha5 photos

New teammates – Rossi welcomed Lorenzo to Yamaha in 2008. The 25-year-old is known as "Por Fuera" (meaning "by the outside") following a daring move in his first race victory in the 125cc class in 2003.

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Marco's Memories: A year on in Malaysia 6 photos

Marco's Memories: A year on in Malaysia6 photos

Memories of Marco – As MotoGP returns to Malaysia for the first time since the tragic death of Marco Simoncelli, the Italian's memory is very much to the fore of the sport. Here, a fan of the rider, shows her devotion with a tattoo in tribute to her hero who died following a fatal crash on October 23 2011.

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Marco's Memories: A year on in Malaysia6 photos

Fatal finish – Simoncelli was killed on the second lap of the race after losing control of his bike and being hit by Colin Edwards and Valentino Rossi at turn 11 at Sepang. The 24-year-old Italian suffered trauma to the neck, head and chest after his helmet flew off in the collision.

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Marco's Memories: A year on in Malaysia6 photos

Never forgotten – The whole of the MotoGP world stopped in silence at the unveiling of a plaque in memory of the Italian during the ''Tribute for Marco Simoncelli' ahead of the race in Malaysia. The number '58' which was Simoncelli's number and his nickname 'Sic' are both included on the memorial.

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Marco's Memories: A year on in Malaysia6 photos

Paying tribute – Marc Marquez of Spain and Team Catalunya Caixa Repsol touches the plaque during the ceremony. The Spaniard, who is hoping to claim the Moto2 title this weekend, looked emotional throughout the ceremony.

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Marco's Memories: A year on in Malaysia6 photos

Marching on together – MotoGP teams and officials came together at Sepang to remember the former rider during the 'Tribute for Marco Simoncelli' ceremony. According to 2011 world champion Casey Stoner, the incident is "a lot more fresh on everyone's mind being the anniversary."

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Marco's Memories: A year on in Malaysia6 photos

Holding back the tears – Fausto Gresini, team manager of San Carlo Honda Gresini, looks on struggling to hold back the tears. Simoncelli was the second rider Gresini has lost following the death of Japanese rider Daijiro Kato in a gruesome crash at Suzuka in 2003.

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Bike stars gear up for MotoGP 2012 12 photos

Bike stars gear up for MotoGP 201212 photos

Stoner on track for 2012 glory – Honda's world champion Casey Stoner won 10 of the 17 completed races in MotoGP last season, including the finale in Valencia. He is hoping to retain his Qatar race title in Sunday's season opener.

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Bike stars gear up for MotoGP 201212 photos

High-flying Lorenzo – Yamaha's Jorge Lorenzo finished second at Japanese Grand Prix in October -- and second overall as the Spaniard relinquished his world title to Stoner. A finger injury ruled him out of the last three races.

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Bike stars gear up for MotoGP 201212 photos

Italy's roaring sucess on home turf – Honda's Andrea Dovizioso will be seeking his first race victory since his maiden win in 2009. The Italian placed third overall last year after registering seven podium placings.

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Bike stars gear up for MotoGP 201212 photos

Pedrosa showered in glory – Another Honda rider, Dani Pedrosa, was fourth in 2011 after missing three races due to a fractured collarbone at the French Grand Prix in May. The Spaniard was runner-up to Lorenzo in 2010.

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Bike stars gear up for MotoGP 201212 photos

Can Rossi return to form? – Seven-time world champion Valentino Rossi will seek to improve on a disappointing first season at Ducati, having ended 2011 in seventh place.

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Bike stars gear up for MotoGP 201212 photos

Success for Spies – American rider Ben Spies was Rossi's replacement at Yamaha's main team last year, and the 27-year-old won a race for the first time in the Netherlands and finished fifth overall.

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Bike stars gear up for MotoGP 201212 photos

Sparks fly for Hayden – Rossi's teammate Nicky Hayden was a world champion with Honda in 2006, but finished eighth last year and crashed in the final race. The 30-year-old American is starting his fourth season at the Italian team.

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Bike stars gear up for MotoGP 201212 photos

Crutchlow flies the flag – Britain's Cal Crutchlow was a big success in the World Superbike series, but struggled after taking the step up to MotoGP last year with the Monster Yamaha Tech 3 team.

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Bike stars gear up for MotoGP 201212 photos

Larger than life Hiroshi – Hiroshi Aoyama was the top Japanese rider in MotoGP last year. The 30-year-old finished the season 10th for the San Carlo Honda Gresini team.

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Bike stars gear up for MotoGP 201212 photos

Hector puts his head down – Spanish rider Hector Barbera has switched to the Pramac Racing team for 2012 after two years at Ducati, where he finished 12th and then 11th overall.

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Bike stars gear up for MotoGP 201212 photos

Czech cuts a fine figure – Young Czech rider Karel Abraham will be embarking on his second season in MotoGP. The 22-year-old was 14th overall for Ducati last year.

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Bike stars gear up for MotoGP 201212 photos

Remembering Marco – The starting grid will be less colorful this year due to the absence of charismatic Italian rider Marco Simoncelli, who died after crashing at the Malaysian Grand Prix in October.

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"I'm very happy with the pole position and the new record because Valentino's old record was done with qualifying tires. We had only one dry session to test the new asphalt," he said.

"We still have to decide on the tires for tomorrow because we have used only the soft compound, but it depends on the weather -- if it rains we will need to take what we learned yesterday. I really would like to win here and finish the season with a good race."

Stoner, whose title defense was derailed by injury, has two wins and two second placings in Valencia since his MotoGP debut in 2006 but the Australian is not comfortable with the track's new surface.

"Qualifying didn't really go to plan, it was a pretty frustrating session. Due to the miserable weather this weekend, we had a lot of work to do in a very short space of time, we did make some good progress but unfortunately we couldn't find enough before the end of the session," the 27-year-old said after setting a time of 1:31.428.

"There is a new surface here and we expected everything to be really good and smooth but in fact we've found there are a lot of bumps on the circuit. Hopefully the weather is dry tomorrow and we can take that extra step in warm-up."

Lorenzo, who will be rejoined by Rossi at Yamaha next year, has won six out of 17 races and finished runner-up 10 times -- with just one retirement.

"It seems like it's going to be very close tomorrow. Dani is very strong here, not only in the dry but also in the wet and it seems it could be wet for the race," he said after clocking 1:31.195.

"I tried my best for pole position with the last rear tire but I didn't expect the lap time from Dani."

Seven-time world champion Rossi has not won at Valencia since 2004, and his hopes of a repeat seem slim after a poor final qualifying run for Ducati.

The Italian, who has stood on the podium just twice in two years away from Yamaha, finished Saturday's session back in 11th -- more than two seconds slower than Pedrosa.